Han spiller uden at snyde.

Spiller is the present tense form of the verb at spille. In Danish, the present tense is usually made by adding -r to the infinitive:

• at spille = to play
• spiller = plays / is playing

So Han spiller means he plays or he is playing, depending on context.

Uden at is a very common Danish structure meaning without doing something.

• uden = without
• at + infinitive = to do something

So:

• uden at snyde = without cheating

You should usually think of uden at as a set phrase when it is followed by a verb.

After uden at, Danish uses the infinitive form of the verb, not the present tense.

So you get:

• uden at snyde = without cheating

not:

• uden at snyder ❌

This is similar to English using a non-finite form after without, although Danish uses at + infinitive in this structure.

Snyde most often means to cheat, but depending on context it can also mean to trick or to deceive.

In a sentence about playing a game, sports, or any competition, snyde will normally be understood as cheat.

Examples:

• Han snyder i kortspil. = He cheats at cards.
• De blev snydt. = They were tricked / cheated.

Yes, if uden is followed by a verb, you normally use at:

• uden at snyde
• uden at tale
• uden at se sig tilbage

But if uden is followed by a noun, there is no at:

• uden snyd = without cheating / without fraud
• uden hjælp = without help
• uden problemer = without problems

So the difference is basically:

• uden at + verb
• uden + noun

Yes, you could. It is grammatical, but it is slightly different in structure and nuance.

• Han spiller uden at snyde focuses on the action: he plays without cheating.
• Han spiller uden snyd uses the noun snyd and sounds more like he plays without cheating/fraud in a more general or abstract sense.

The version with uden at snyde is often more natural when talking about what someone is or is not doing.

It is in the present tense because of spiller.

Danish present tense can correspond to both:

• he plays
• he is playing

The exact English translation depends on context. Danish does not usually make the same strong distinction between simple present and present progressive as English does.

Yes, but the basic sentence is the most neutral:

• Han spiller uden at snyde.

You can move the uden at phrase to the front for emphasis:

• Uden at snyde spiller han.

When something other than the subject comes first in a main clause, Danish usually puts the verb before the subject. That is why it becomes spiller han, not han spiller.

This fronted version is less neutral and sounds more marked or literary.

No. At spille can mean several things, including:

• to play a game
• to play music/an instrument
• to act / perform

So the exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, because of snyde, most learners will naturally understand it as playing a game or taking part in something where cheating is possible.

Yes, many English speakers find snyde difficult.

A rough guide:

• the y is a front rounded vowel that English does not really have
• the d in this kind of position is often pronounced softly, more like a voiced dental sound than a full English d
• the final -e is pronounced

So it is not pronounced the way an English speaker might guess from the spelling. If pronunciation matters for your learning, y in Danish is one of the sounds worth practicing early.

Not really in this sentence. Han is simply the third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning he.

A useful thing to remember is that Danish pronouns are not dropped, so you normally need the subject explicitly:

• Han spiller = He plays

You would not normally omit han the way some languages allow subject omission.